Car Stories

Which brands, vehicles ‘deliver high value’ to consumers

It’s a small word with a big meaning, especially when it comes to buying a vehicle (the second-largest purchase most people make in their lives).

And some brands deliver more value than others, according to one auto industry awards program.

The big winners? Depends on how you look at it. Toyota won more segment awards – nine of 32 – based on calculations of total ownership costs by Vincentric, an automotive data collection and analysis firm. General Motors and Ford each won four segments, Audi captured three segments, while Chevrolet, Honda, Hyundai, Subaru and Volvo won two segments a piece.

One of the standout stars? Toyota Tacoma pickup, which won best-value honors for a 12th straight year.

“The 2016 Vincentric Best Value in America awards show that when manufacturers measure and manage a vehicle’s total cost of ownership, they are able to consistently deliver high value to consumers,” said David Wurster, president of the Michigan firm.

“Our analysis has identified award-winning vehicles that have been purposefully developed with the intention of minimizing ownership costs, benefitting their customers.”

Following are the award winners by category, segment, brand and model:

Vincentric measures cost of ownership using eight different factors: depreciation, fees and taxes, financing, fuel, insurance, maintenance, opportunity cost and repairs. The company identified winners by measuring which vehicles had lower-than-expected ownership costs for their segment and price.

More than 3,000 vehicle configurations were evaluated in all 50 states plus Washington, D.C.

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